Turn uneaten bread crusts into tasty treats

Chances are that if you have children, at some point or another you have battled with them about eating their bread crusts.

While some days you may think that it is a battle not worth fighting, you may feel differently when you realise that you could be wasting up to 31% of a loaf of bread if your children never eat their crusts. Not only is that a waste of food, it’s also a waste of money.

Instead of tossing the crusts in the bin, you can transform them into treats that your children will want to eat. Try this recipe for chocky bready muffins – you can even get the kids to help!

If savoury snacks are more your thing, toast the crusts to use them as dipping soldiers with soft boiled eggs, cut them into chunks and make croutons or soak them in egg to make French toast.

Tip: Store the crusts in an airtight container or bag in your freezer until you have enough to use.

Chocky Bready Muffins

These chocky bready muffins are perfect for the lunchbox or can be warmed for a quick dessert.

Ingredients:

7 cups of bread crusts (crusts from approximately one loaf of sandwich bread)

1/2 cup milk

300ml cream, heated (or milk)

4 eggs

100g butter, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup fresh or dried fruit, chopped into small chunks (optional)

icing sugar, to serve

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C and line or lightly grease medium sized muffin tins.

Cut crusts into 1-2 cm chunks. Measure 3 cups of crusts and mix with milk, soak for 2-3 minutes and mush with the back of a fork.

In a separate bowl mix together cream, eggs, butter, sugar and vanilla. Combine well and add to the soaking bread crusts.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Check to ensure the bread tops are crunchy but don’t burn.

Cool, sprinkle with icing sugar.

Tips:

It will appear to be a ‘sloppy’ mix but don’t be concerned! These muffins won’t rise like a traditional muffin recipe, so don’t be afraid to fill each muffin tin to the top then spoon extra to create a generous mound.

They are very filling and make a snack or lunch-box filler to keep you going throughout the day.